


Droplets of Moonlight

by kaleidomusings



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Animals, Family, Family Feels, Foxes, Friendship, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 03:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6222658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a supply run at one of Coyn's spaceports, Finn ends up rescuing a fox kit from smugglers. Now he not only has to figure out how to care for and raise the little creature, but also needs to work out his feelings for Poe. </p><p>Neither comes easily, but he's doing his best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Droplets of Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [victoriousscarf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/victoriousscarf/gifts), [StardustGifts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustGifts/gifts).



> I wanted to try my hand at writing a fic where Finn ends up adopting a little friend and Poe being too smitten to deny him. Which is how this story came to be.

BB-8 is a traitor. 

Finn adores the little droid and trusts it with his life as much as he does Rey or Poe. But BB-8 is also a great big traitor, especially when Finn tries to sneak onto the ship without Poe noticing, only for BB-8 to rat him out by beeping furiously.

He tries to hush it, but by then Poe has already heard the commotion and catches him in the act. He leans against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest and one eyebrow raised. Finn shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot because that is Poe's disappointed face and he hates to see that look, especially when he's responsible for it. 

"You told me you would be right back," Poe says. He doesn't even sound accusatory about it, which somehow makes Finn feel worse. "I didn't expect you to be gone for hours."

Finn decides not to tell him that it took him such a long time because he had to lose the smugglers who came after him and then couldn't find his way back. "Um. About that."

"We're only here to pick up supplies. Realizing you were out there, alone, with no way for BB-8 and I to get a hold of you- Do you have any idea what I thought?"

Finn is ashamed to admit that he never really considered that. "I'm sorry." 

After facing against Kylo Ren, Finn woke up from his injuries with the wild thought of stealing a ship, either to go after Rey or run away entirely. He nearly did it too, but then he thought of Rey training with Luke Skywalker himself and Poe laying down his life for the Resistance. Would he run away or become the man his friends believed him to be? So as soon as he healed and went through grueling physical therapy, he asked General Organa for the chance to prove himself and hasn't looked back since. And it's only since being with the Resistance that he found a sense of purpose and a family. He isn't going to run away anymore. The First Order will have to kill him before he gives any of it up. 

Poe obviously knows that, but Finn doesn't understand why else he would have been so worried, if he hadn't thought Finn had deserted him and the Resistance. Because the idea of Poe being concerned for Finn's welfare is dangerous to think about, since it'll just make end up hoping for too much. Poe has already given Finn a new start and a new life, so there's no possible way he can ask for more from him. 

"I'm fine. Really," Finn says. 

The tension in Poe's shoulders eases, but only minutely. "Good. So what's in your jacket?"

Finn immediately stiffens, his arms tightening around his waist. "Nothing," he says too quickly to be convincing. And then, because he can't seem to keep his big mouth shut, starts to babble. "Although technically it's your jacket. That you gave me. Which makes it mine now I suppose-"

Poe pushes off the wall and moves toward him, his face difficult to read. Finn nearly backs away, but BB-8 beeps and bumps hard against the back of his knees. All he can do is stand in place and almost forgets how to breathe when Poe stops right in front of him -so close they're nearly touching- and tugs on the front of the jacket. The jacket that was nearly burned through by Ren's lightsaber, but was pieced together again. "Sure doesn't look like nothing."

Finn glances down at the lump under his collar, which he has propped up with his arms so it won't fall out. He raises his eyes to meet Poe's and smiles sheepishly. "Don't be mad, okay?"

Poe opens his mouth to respond but freezes in place when they both hear a muffled but very loud whine. Even BB-8 seems surprised by these turn of events and keeps beeping until Finn unzips his jacket to pull out when he had hidden there. 

The Coynite woman he bought it from called it a fox, a rare creature that is supposed to symbolize good luck and long life. Finn isn't much of a superstitious person, never really had the chance to, but as soon as he first laid eyes on the little animal he knew he had to take it with him. What worried him was Poe's reaction, so he decided he would stow it away somewhere on the ship that Poe wouldn't find it. Although clearly he didn't think that through very well. 

The fox wriggles around until it finally settles in his arms, the tip of its long nose quivering as it scents the air, intelligent amber eyes studying its surroundings with an intensity that reminds him of Rey. He smooths a hand across its back and it tilts its head up to look up at him before yawning, revealing small but very sharp teeth. 

"Buddy." Poe looks completely baffled, which is both silly and very attractive. Finn distracts himself by poking at the fox's black tipped ears, which twitch away from his offending finger. "Why do you have a kit?"

Finn glances up and feels his brows furrow together in confusion. "But it's not a kit." Unless there are medical supplies hidden in its fur, but he doubts that. "It's called a fox."

Poe's mouth twists, like he's fighting against the urge to smile. "Baby foxes are called kits, Finn."

"It's a baby?" Finn asks, even as he starts to stroke its silver grey fur. He's a little worried that it will grow bigger than it already is, but as long as it isn't rathtar size than he's fine with it. And it's way better to look at than a rathtar, that's for sure. 

BB-8 beeps and Poe blinks hard, like waking up from a dream, although he's been awake the whole time he was talking to Finn. "Why do you even have it?"

"I overheard some smugglers who were talking about skinning it," Finn says, getting angry just from the memory. "I didn't want them to hurt it so I bought it instead."

"For how much?"

Finn bites his lip. The Resistance doesn't pay him a lot, but he does get a small salary as one of its members. He can never find a reason to use it though, especially when Poe ends up buying him things no matter how much he protests, so he's just been saving it until he figured out what to do with it. Almost all of it went to saving the fox. 

Poe seems to take Finn's silence as answer enough, because he sighs. "Finn, I really don't care what you spend your money on, but a pet is a really big responsibility. You're caring for another living thing. You have to feed it and clean up after it-"

Finn smiles, because Poe can't be too angry with him if he's lecturing him like this. He's only seen Poe really and honestly angry once, and that was when someone came up to Finn and accused him of being a Stormtrooper spy while he was in earshot. When Poe is angry, his face goes terrifyingly blank and his shoulders square back like he's about to throw himself into a fight. Finn has never been afraid of Poe before, but on that day he's learned to be afraid of making him angry. 

"I'll take good care of it," Finn promises and Poe finally relents with the lecturing. "You won't even know it's here."

"A little hard with a face like that," Poe says and reaches toward the fox to scratch it behind its ears. Finn tries not to think about how close Poe is leaning toward him, paying more attention to how the fox kIt bats at Poe with its little paws before gnawing on his finger. BB-8 beeps, which Poe translates. "And it's a she, according to BB-8's scanner."

"Oh." Finn is suddenly embarrassed. It occurs to him that he really doesn't know what he's doing after all when it comes to raising a pet. 

Apparently Poe notices his uncertainty, because the look he gives him is reassuring. "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"

Rey is the first one that comes to mind, but it might get confusing when the fox and the original are in the same room together. He considers Kare, Jessika, or Leia, but dismisses them for the same reasons. He thinks a little more and blurts out the first name that feels and sounds the most fitting. 

"Shara."

Poe's eyes widen with surprise and Finn immediately worries that he made a horrible mistake. Lately Finn has been reading up on Rebel fighters and of course the names of his friend's parents had stood out to him. But Shara Bey is Poe's mother after all, and Finn would understand if Poe doesn't want a fox -even an adorable fox like this one- sharing her name. 

But when he glances at Poe to apologize, he's smiling at him, soft and warm in a way that makes Finn's heart skip a beat or two. And if he hadn't been in love with Poe before, he would have been after seeing that smile.

"That's a good choice," Poe says. 

As he starts to pull away, Finn reaches for him without thinking and catches the edge of his shirt. Poe startles and turns back toward him, eyes wide. "I-" Finn falters a little and shifts Shara in his arms -causing her to complain at him- before reaching in his pocket. "I got you something too."

The reason why he snuck off the ship in the first place was because he wanted to get Poe a gift. So when Poe was busy and otherwise distracted, he left by himself and wandered until he found a stall selling stones of different shapes and sizes, of all kinds of different colors. The stone he bought for Poe is half the size of his palm, smooth, and dark blue with flecks of violet, silver, and white across its surface. Finn still isn't sure why it caught his interest, just that it reminded him of the night sky on D'Qar and because he wanted Poe to have something Finn bought for him. 

Poe's hand is very warm when Finn places the stone in his hand. He misses the contact immediately and is startled when Poe's other hand catches his fingers, linking them together. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Finn," he says, just as Shara decides to announce that she's hungry. 

Very, very loudly.

**Author's Note:**

> Shara is a silver fox, which is a melanistic coloration of the more common red fox.
> 
> I did some research and apparently foxes do exist in the Star Wars universe, but the Coynite superstitions about them are ones I made up. I just thought they deserved a better reputation than being known as thieves and tricksters (although Shara is both).


End file.
